(Poppy went to her 2nd class where all her friends were waiting for her and she told them the news. She didn't tell them the events that happened after auditions because she knew that they would start blasting her with theories that his song was about her when she wasn't 100% sure herself. She also didn't want to tell them about Branch's secret that he could in fact sing, Branch was always a private person and she wanted to respect that.)

Satin: you're kidding!

Poppy: I swear!

Chenille: I told you!

Guy: this is amazing!

Biggie: what'd you going to do next?

Poppy: nothing yet, I'm just playing it by ear…I don't want to scare him off

Suki: she's right…Branch could snap back just like that

Biggie: so…we shouldn't talk to him at callbacks?

Satin: we must let him come to us, but it seems like he's drawn to poppy

Poppy: huh?

Satin: (smirks) oh nothing (looks at everyone else and they giggle)

Poppy: you guys are weird…oh great its Bridget

Bridget: (smirks big) why hello Popcorn (looks at the rest of them) everyone

Poppy: Bridget

Bridget: ready for the callback today

Poppy: of course

Bridget: I've got the ol' voice warmed up

Poppy: good for you

Bridget: me and creek were practicing all night…and a little more

Poppy: you know…that's so low of what you did and now you want to torment me about it

Bridget: I was doing you a favor; you never wanted to be with Creek, I know you love your boy toy Brandon

Poppy: you don't know anything about him!

Bridget: neither do you after 4 years

Poppy: you're trying to get in my head and it's not going to work (walks away)

(As Branch sat in his class…he thought about what would happen at callbacks. This would be the first Tuesday he didn't go to his therapy session, he called Dr. Gristle and asked if they could have their session on the phone later to which he agreed. Branch was also a little excited…he was so ready to hear poppy sing again, he was so inspired he started writing down his next idea for a song down, being careful not to get caught by his teacher…3:30 couldn't come fast enough. When the bell rang, it was time for lunch. He wasn't quite sure what to do, he usually just sat alone, but now that he and poppy talked today should he try to find her? No…he knew she sat with their old friends and he wasn't ready to talk to them yet. It was too much. Then again, he didn't want to feel like he was ignoring her, ughhh. He was overthinking this too much. He figured poppy would understand he was taking everything one step at a time. He decided to go to Mrs. Harvey's room and hang out.)

Mrs. Harvey: Hey Brandon!

Branch: Hey Mrs. Harvey, is it alright if I hang out here for a little bit?

Mrs. Harvey: of course! I actually wanted to go over a few things for the callbacks anyways!

Branch: perfect

Mrs. Harvey: alright…so I'm thinking we'll start with the reading parts for Christine and the phantom first and then we can do the duets, but we'll only have them sing half of the song to save time

Branch: a duet?

Mrs. Harvey: yes, whats wrong?

Branch: well…what if…one of the singers doesn't match the pitch of the other one, then they'd both be off key, I just don't think we should put that stress on them, not to mention it takes time to build chemistry for a duet and we only have 20 people for callbacks, so we don't have to rush

Mrs. Harvey: that's a very good point Brandon, looks like your job of teaching music has brought that out of you (smirks)

Branch: I guess (chuckles)

Mrs. Harvey: alright…how about this… I will run the Christine singing parts when the guys audition and you can run the phantom's part when the girls audition

Branch: you're trusting me with that?

Mrs. Harvey: of course, you know what you're doing, I told you that you have a great voice

Branch: well…I'd love to, but um…I don't know, Im not-

Mrs. Harvey: it's ok Brandon, we don't have to do that…I know this is new for you, here's what we'll do…we'll call everyone in one at a time so there's no audience, everyone else can wait in this room and I'll have another one of my teachers play theater games with them, but can you do one thing for me?

Brandon: what's that?

Mrs. Harvey: when we do the readings since we'll be doing it one at a time, will you read the phantoms part when the girls audition?

Branch: oh…um…I don't know…I don't wanna make anyone nervous

Mrs. Harvey: like poppy?

Branch: (blushes)

Mrs. Harvey: you can do this Brandon…in a way you'll be helping her…a good actor gets the job done despite circumstances

Branch: ok…I'll do it, but can we announce it before everyone goes in, I just don't want anyone to be surprised…

Mrs. Harvey: I'm gonna on a limb and guessed you and poppy talked…what's the story?

(Branch tells the story of what happened after auditions and the events following Larkin's class)

Mrs. Harvey: (smiles) that's amazing Brandon, this was the right step…joining this musical, I'm very proud of you

Branch: I wish I had done this sooner

Mrs. Harvey: it's better late than never, alright so…this sound like a plan?

Branch: sure does

(Back at the cafeteria, Poppy looked around for Branch. She had a feeling he wasn't ready to be this social yet, but wanted to try, when she didn't see him, she went back to her table with all her friends.)

Smidge: you guys really should've seen it! He wasn't scared at all to stand up to Larkins!

Satin: I still can't believe you're even in that class poppy

Poppy: oh, trust me…I probably won't be in there too much longer

Smidge: no! like Brandon said we're gonna prove Larkins wrong! So, I have a couple of questions…what's the story with Brandon and why do you guys call him Branch?

Poppy: well…long story…Brandon is called Branch because he was my best friend since I was 2 and I couldn't say Brandon being that young, so Branch was just always his nickname

Smidge: was?

Poppy: yeah…before high school he just stopped talking to us and never heard from him

Smidge: oh my god! So…when you saw him in class…

Poppy: yeah…that was so awkward…one of the things you missed on the first day of that class

Smidge: wow that's crazy…I'm so sorry…I'm glad he comforted you after Larkins' comment…isn't that a good thing?

Poppy: well he joined the musical too

Smidge: oh my god!

Chenille: I'm telling you he did it to be close to poppy, it has to be

Poppy: (rolls her eyes and keeps to herself what Branch told her about his reason. She knew they were somewhat right, but she didn't want to set herself up for disappointment. While she had to admit, she always had feelings for branch, what's to say he even felt the same.)

(Finally, 3:30 came! Branch made sure he got there before everyone else so he could mentally prepare. He watched as everyone started spilling in, but no sign of poppy or her friends yet. It was then he saw someone familiar…Creek…his blood boiled with anger when he saw him. He wasn't at auditions what was he doing here?! Then he saw Bridget, and that's when it made sense. Unknowing to poppy, Branch had seen Poppy when she caught Bridget and Creek kissing…he hadn't meant to, but he needed to speak with Mrs. Harvey and saw everything…the kissing, the fight between poppy and creek, and when poppy stood up him. He was proud in that moment. He knew that poppy and creek had dated for some time and it hurt him so he couldn't help but smirk when they ended things. He could have strangled creek right then and there for hurting her! He never liked creek, he came around during 8th grade and the two just never got along. Creek was the start of Branch's downfall…He fought so hard not to confront him but was relieved when he finally left. His anger was immediately replaced with butterflies when he saw poppy enter the room. She smiled at him and he nodded. It was a small step, but he was happy with that.)

Mrs. Harvey: hello everyone! Congrats on making it to callbacks, here is our plan today, we're going to go in alphabetical order again, when you enter the auditorium you will read a piece of the script, I will provide Christine's lines when the guys read and Brandon here will provide the lines of the phantom when the guys read, you will all do the singing on your own, everyone else that is waiting in here will play games with Mrs. Birch to help with some jitters, alright everyone good luck! Justin Abrams you are first come with us

(As the auditions both Branch and Poppy started to get a little antsy. Poppy was a little nervous after finding out Branch would be saying the lines with her, it also didn't help that her friends were teasing her about it.)

Poppy: you know he's reading lines with you guys too

Suki: yeah, but you two might blush the whole time

Poppy: what if I mess this up?

Satin: you won't! Actors go through this stuff all the time

Chenille: I bet this is a dream for branch

Poppy: ugh why do you guys keep saying all this?

Satin: poppy…don't you see it, he joined the musical for you, think about it, he never has before until now…this is what you wanted right?

Poppy: of course, but that doesn't mean it isn't weird

Bridget: come on just admit you love him and give us all a break already

Poppy: shut up Bridget! No one asked for your opinion!

Mrs. Birch: girls…we are here to have fun, no one needs this energy before their audition

Poppy: I'm sorry Mrs. Birch

Bridget: yes sorry

(Branch was enjoying going through all these auditions however did find it odd to be reading the lines with Satin, Chenille, and Suki, he hadn't talked to them in a hot minute. He was nervous to read with Poppy, but he had to put that aside the last thing he wanted to do was make her nervous. Finally, when it was her turn, he tried so hard not to show he was blushing.)

Mrs. Harvey: hi poppy! Great to see you here as always, are you ready?

Poppy: born ready!

Mrs. Harvey: alright, Brandon is going to read with you, let's start from the top of the page

(As poppy and branch went through the scene, they both started to feel something. A connection. It was like they were the only two in the room, which was somewhat true. He hated that the scene ended so quickly, but he was ready to hear her sing. She started to sing her part of All I Ask of you. This song wasn't shared with the phantom, but Mrs. Harvey decided it was a great idea for the girls to use this song to show their emotions. Branch just imagined singing the guys part and couldn't hide the smile on his face. He wanted to do what Liam said and just run on that stage and sweep her off her feet right then and there, he hadn't snapped out of it when she finished her song. When the others went, he couldn't hear anyone else's voice, but hers. Most of everyone that had went through their callback had left, but when they left the auditorium, he saw poppy and her friends hanging around still talking. He definitely wasn't going to approach all of them, so he decided to help Mrs. Harvey out before he left.)

Mrs. Harvey: I think that went very well, I can see you were very impressed during a certain someone's performance

Branch: her voice is really something

Mrs. Harvey: it is, I think we might have found our Christine, our little secret

Branch: she'll make a great one

Mrs. Harvey: don't let her get away Brandon

Branch: huh?

Mrs. Harvey: I can tell by the way you look at her, she means something to you

Branch: I just hate that it took so long…I could've had all this time, and I blew it

Mrs. Harvey: I know what you went through Brandon, you can't change your past, it's all about what you can do now

Branch: why do you always have to be right?

Mrs. Harvey: (chuckles) I'm not always right, I just know I've lived through enough experiences to pass on my wisdom

Branch: thank you so much…today went great, will the cast list be up by Friday?

Mrs. Harvey: it will, I'll let you know if I get stuck with deciding, now get home I think I've worked you hard enough today

Branch: alright, have a great night

(Branch walked out of her room, man did he have a lot to tell Dr. Gristle. He looked around to see if Poppy had left, to his surprise, she was waiting by the back door, was she waiting for him or another friend? He decided to take advantage with her friends not around. He tried to hide the blushing on his face when she smiled at him.)

Poppy: Hi Branch!

Branch: hi poppifer, are you waiting for someone?

Poppy: I'm looking at him

Branch: you didn't have to do that

Poppy: I'm in no rush to get home, and I feel bad we didn't get to talk much during callbacks today

Branch: well I mean…there was the reading (chuckles)

Poppy: (laughs a little) so Branch…um do you wanna study for the calculus test?

Branch: I said I would help you, wouldn't I? (chuckles) how about tomorrow? At Starbucks or the library?

Poppy: that sounds great…I thought you didn't drink coffee (smirks)

Branch: they have tea you know

Poppy: maybe I can get you to like coffee by the end of the semester

Branch: you think so? Alright I guess I'm up for the challenge

Poppy: being stage manager you might get addicted to it, us theater kids will drive you crazy (laughs)

Branch: we'll see about that…so I'll see you tomorrow, Larkins class and after school?

Poppy: I'm looking forward to you teaching me calculus than Larkins (rolls her eyes)

Branch: don't worry, you're gonna prove him wrong

Poppy: thank you for earlier today, if it hadn't been for your pep talk, I probably would've blown my callback

Branch: it's no problem poppy, I can definitely say you didn't blow it, Larkins doesn't know what's coming for him, I better get going, I'll see you tomorrow

Poppy: see you tomorrow! (gives him a hug)

(Branch loved this warm embrace; he didn't want to let go. When they pulled away, he looked deeply into her eyes. He wanted to kiss her. He just couldn't shake the butterflies, they always had a strong connection, and he never would've thought he would've felt it again this quickly. He had to let go of her before he did something to scare her off, so he offered her a warm smile before he hopped on his motorcycle. As soon as he reached his house, he hopped on skype with Dr. Gristle.)

Branch: Dr. Gristle…I've got so much to tell you

If there's anything I love to write during this story, it's definitely the teacher/student relationship between Branch and Mrs. Harvey! Creek is another piece of Branch's puzzle! Hope everyone is enjoying! It feels nice to actually update more often now that I actually have the time, more to come!

~Ash